A Not So Simple Fairy Tale
by Candlelight Coffee
Summary: It all started with some... unusual dreams. Now can a relationship that started with anger and disgust end happily ever after? StephJericho fic!
1. The Dreams

A/N: I haven't watched wrestling in a very long time, because I just haven't had the time or the interest. But, I do enjoy the idea of Stephanie and Chris, and I do enjoy fan fiction. So here is my story. It takes place a long time ago, Steph and Triple H are married, and Christ and Steph are in their hate mood, lol  
  
----  
  
She stood before him sheer white lingerie, her curves being almost too much for him to handle. Her auburn curls fell around her face, begging him to run his hand through them. Her lips played a sincere smile of happiness and excitement, and her chocolate brown eyes played a twinkle that he had never seen before.  
  
She walked up to his bed slowly. His bed. The one he was currently in. This felt like a dream. He almost couldn't believe it.  
  
He felt like her smile lit up the room. She slowly climbed onto the bed, and on top of him until her face was an inch away from his. "You don't know how long I have waited, dreaming of this moment…" He whispered lifting his hand to play with one of her soft curls.  
  
"I think I love you." Stephanie whispered leaning in giving in to her temptations. She kissed him, and he felt like he was tasting heaven. His lips slightly parted, aching for more of her. Nothing mattered as long as this moment was forever. Nothing mattered as long as there were millions of moments to come that held as much anticipation, excitement, and passion as this one.  
  
She slowly backed away, ending the moment. Her taste still playing on his lips. "I love you so much." He whispered before he leaned in kissing her, running his hand through her hair, and down her back.  
  
She pulled away again, unbuttoning his shirt. Running her hands down his chest. He pulled her closer. He could feel her soft skin rubbing on his thighs.  
  
----  
  
Chris Jericho's eyes burst open before, "AHHHHH!!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.  
  
He ran through his giant house running to the bathroom, turning on the shower, and running the cold water through his mouth and all over his sweaty skin.  
  
His pajamas were getting wet in the process and he was making a mess all over his bathroom floor. He didn't care. He felt like she was all over him, and he had to get it out. Finally he turned the water off and grabbed a towel. Drying his face off he couldn't believe what he had just seen in his dream. "Talk about a nightmare…" he stated before walking to his kitchen.  
  
He made a mental note that if another dream such as this one comes up he is going to have to quit sleeping altogether and live off of coffee.  
  
----  
  
Chris walked into the stadium prepared for another days work in the wresting ring. "Whoa dude. Didn't get enough sleep?" Edge said noticing the giant bags under Chris' eyes.  
  
"Nightmare," Chris simply stated before continuing on to his locker room, which he had hoped was right next to the coffee room.  
  
Just his luck, before even making it to his room, he ran into the Princess herself. "Chris…" She said, smiling. She knew his lack of sleep was going to give her tons of reasons to mock him today. "Busy night huh? I am sure that the boys are missing you now. After all you are their best fudge packer."  
  
His eyes merely widened at the sight of her. He didn't know what to do. After a dream like that, all he could think about was her in that sheer lingerie. He stammered. "I uh… have to go." He said walked the other way, faster than he even realized.  
  
Stephanie watched him leave with a questionable look. "He must be really sleep deprived if he is just going to walk away from me." She noted how much fun she could have with this.

---

Chris nodded off as soon as he sat down in his room.

---

She smiled, this time in her kitchen wearing nothing. She was sitting on his counter, with the same smile of excitement and joy, because she knew what was to come.  
  
"Chris…" she said, almost moaning his name. He stepped foreword running his hands up her thighs.  
  
She wrapped her legs around his muscular waist, pulling him closer. "Is this going to happen every night?" he whispered begging her to say yes.  
  
"As long as you are sleeping. Every night." She said. She leaned in and nibbled on his bottom lip. He engulfed her in another kiss, satisfying his hunger for passion.  
  
----  
  
Chris woke up yet again in a sweat. He looked around the room, this time stifling his screams of horror. He was still in his locker room, he looked at the television seeing that the show had already started and there she was again, with her husband.  
  
He was confused. He looked at her now and he was enraged with hatred, yet at the same time he was so hungry for her touch he almost couldn't stand it. How was he supposed to work like this? With her everywhere around him? He couldn't get her out of his mind, and they bickered every day. He couldn't just change or else she would know something was up. He had to find out how to get rid of his erotic dreams. They warned him that they would be happening every time he feel asleep. Every night.  
  
He saw her kiss her husband, almost like she was mocking him and his dreams. Though he knew that was impossible, she knew nothing of his dreams. He watched them, in a mixture of anger and disgust.  
  
These dreams had to stop. And soon.  
  
----  
  
Stephanie walked back in her locker room, hand in hand with her husband. "We are going to rule this business." She said with a smile.  
  
Triple H put his forehead to hers. "And when we do?" He inquired.  
  
"We are going to have every belt in the business. Every wrestler at our disposal. And you and I will live happily ever after." She said, proud of herself. It would be no time before her father gave the company to her and her husband, or they took it by force.

At least that was her plan. This was heaven to her. Nothing would get in her way now.


	2. The Secret

Disclaimer: I only own my body. Everything else you see is borrowed.

He had stayed away from her for weeks and she was still haunting his dreams. He hadn't made fun of her in weeks, and every night she kept coming to him in his dreams. He wasn't safe when he was sleeping, and the bloodshot eyes proved how much he was trying to avoid it.  
  
"Chris are you alright?" He turned around to face her. Since when did she care how he was? He saw the look of concern in his eyes.  
  
"Why do you care, Princess?" He shot back, his voice full of venom.  
  
She winced at the name, instantly making him regret what he said. She was not the reason these dreams haunted his dreams.  
  
He just recently took a liking to calling her Princess. He decided it was much more fitting. Not only was she The Princess of the wrestling business, but she was also the Princess of his career. She was almost ruling his life, and he had never felt so out of control before. She was why he was not sleeping, and all day he decided where to go in hopes he would not run into her.  
  
Now it wasn't so much he hated her. If you asked him a month ago, he would have said he hated her with a passion. Now, he tolerated her more. Occasionally he would hate her because of his lack of sleep, even blamed it on her at times. But the dreams weren't her fault, and not harassing her everyday kind of lifted his hate for her.  
  
"Chris, if you really need help, you can always give me a call," she handed him a card with her number. "And please get some sleep. Its no fun harassing you if your tired."  
  
She walked away leaving him in awe. She was actually nice. And he got her number. What in the hell was going on? He looked down at the little piece of paper. She probably thought he was on drugs. He scowled. Yeah she could help him, if she just got the hell out of his head.  
  
---  
  
The day went by quickly, Chris didn't run into Stephanie again, which he was thankful. He still had her number in his pocket, wondering if it will ever be used. He took it out wondering what she was thinking when she gave it to him and set it next to the phone. Like hell it would be used.  
  
His stared at his television, like every night wondering, and avoiding the dreams, and even more, the person in them, until he finally drifted off again to see her. She smiled and slowly undressed herself.  
  
"Chris…" She said, sounding very inviting. She unbuttoned his shirt and slowly took it off. She lightly trailed kisses down his chest until she reached the top of his pants. She looked up, almost in question at him.  
  
Chris willingly undressed himself the rest of the way. She grabbed his hand and walked toward the shower. He noticed the steam all around his bathroom from the hot water she must have already ran for him. "Its not as hot without you," She said giving him her puppy eyes before opening his glass shower doors, and leading him inside.  
  
He willingly followed her, watching the water drip down her body.  
  
---  
  
Chris woke up, the same as every night, panting heavy. He looked at the clock. He had only been asleep for two hours. Two in the morning. He cursed himself finally allowing himself to try and get to the bottom of this. He found the little piece of paper with her number on it, and dialed it. It rang a couple of times.  
  
"Hello?" she answered.  
  
"Stephanie, look, I don't know who the hell you think you are but, you need to get the hell out of my head." Chris said all in one breath. He didn't care if he woke her up at two in the morning. If he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon then neither was she.  
  
Before she could speak he continued. "I cannot get you out of my head and to be quite frank you aren't supposed to be there and I don't want you there."  
  
"Chris--" She interrupted him.  
  
"No, let me finish!" He yelled. "I can't sleep because every time I close my eyes I see you, and as romantic as that may sound, I don't want you there, you don't want to be there, and it needs to just… just go away!"  
  
"Chris!" she yelled back.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I am so glad you called. I knew out of everyone you might catch on," she said.  
  
It took him a minute to digest what she had said. Catch on to what? He realized that her voice was full of panic and fear. And she had been crying.  
  
He was suddenly hit with fear. He had never seen her weak before. Try as it may, he had always seen her brave in the face of danger. She had been smart to run when she destined to fail, but he had never seen her cry. Not once. He had never seen her give up enough to cry. Crying meant losing dignity, and losing pride. She had never let someone take that away from her. But now, she cried to him.  
  
"Chris, Hunter won't let me leave the house. He abuses me and blames me for everyone of his lost matches. He monitors my phone calls making sure I don't make any outgoing calls. If he knew I was talking to you, I would be dead. I am not allowed to talk about this at work, and no one ever calls here for me," She said sobbing.  
  
Chris' eyes widened. She gave him her number as a call for help, hoping and prying he would call. Hoping he would help her because no one else even knew what was going on.  
  
She let out a little whimper. "Chris, he's sleeping now. I need help," She said with one last sob before he heard a thud and a yell from Hunter. Then the line went dead.

a/n: Cliffhanger, hahaha. Tell me what you think. Hit the little review button please!


	3. Taking a Stand

He wrung his hands. He was the only one to call her since that asshole of a husband was beating her. He felt a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. What was he supposed to do? He didn't know where she even know where he lived.  
  
He calmed down. He would have to think about this. Hunter was a very powerful man, so he ruled the police out. He wouldn't want to call them, he would want Stephanie too. That way they would believe her and Hunter couldn't do anything about it.  
  
He couldn't believe all this time Stephanie was probably begging for help from everyone and he was the only one that called her. She had to have tried to get everyone to call her before she tried him and yet he was the only one who called. He never saw any bruises or anything on her.  
  
He pulled out his little address book. McMahon… Shane would know where she lives.  
  
He dialed the number letting it ring a few times. "Hello?" came Shane's groggy answer.  
  
"Shane, I need to know where Hunter lives. Its important," Chris said.  
  
"Chris, it's 2:30 in the morning. Go to be. Your delusional," Shane said simply, letting out a yawn.  
  
"No, she might need my help and I need to know where she is. I know she lives with Hunter but where?"  
  
Shane let out a sigh. "If I tell you, promise to be nicer to her and not call me at two in the morning anymore?"  
  
Chris smiled. Shane didn't even want to know why. Typical. No wonder no one ever found out she was being abused.  
  
"I know you like her, but when you claim your undying love for her, don't tell her you got the address from me, she lives on Third street, 22009. Goodnight," Shane hung up the phone, falling back on his pillow."  
  
Chris hung up the phone. 'He thinks I am in love with his sister?' He thought. At least he got the information he needed. He got dressed and hopped in his car.  
  
He turned off his headlights as he approached his house. He noted how big it was, wondering how he was ever going to find her in there. He sure as hell would try anyway.  
  
---  
  
Stephanie sobbed holding her cheek, which had already started to swell.  
  
"Didn't I tell you no phone calls bitch?!?" Hunter yelled, looking down at her. She was sitting on the floor waiting for more of his abuse, which she knew was coming.  
  
"Who did you call?" He demanded to know.  
  
He kicked her in the stomach causing her to curl up, and hold it. She would not tell him. Her only chance was that Chris come here and she could not ruin his chance.  
  
"Someone called here," she lied.  
  
"Bullshit. Someone called here at two in the morning Stephanie? I am not stupid!" Hunter backhanded her giving her a bloody nose. She didn't care now though. He would be here to rescue her soon.  
  
"Who the fuck did you call?!" He screamed again.  
  
"I told you, someone called here. It was Shane. He called because my father told him if I want to keep the company I can, and that's it's not worth our family," She laid again. She knew she would get caught in this lie, but by then she hoped Chris, or the police would take her away from this house.  
  
Hunter smile. This was almost too perfect. He got the business. The business he had lied, cheated and stole for, he finally got it. His smile slowly faded. This was too perfect. He grabbed Stephanie by her hair and threw her against the wall.  
  
"Your lying," he said almost in a growl.  
  
She stood up to him. "N-no. He gives up," she said praying he bought it.  
  
"You must think I am really stupid. But I'm not," He said smiling. "Someone is on their way over here, and your trying to cover up." He grabbed her hair and bashed her head on the wall. She felt her warm blood on the back of her head before realizing that he bashed her head through the wall. She let out a cry.  
  
He smiled at her reaction. He was right. He walked over to his closet and started to pack a bag. He threw a bag to her. "We are leaving tonight. This mystery person you called, won't know where to find us," he said throwing numerous articles of clothing in his bag.  
  
---  
  
Chris watched from his car across the street, careful not to be seen. He watched through a pair of binoculars as Stephanie was brutally beaten. He saw Hunter rip every hopeful thought from her brain, and make her give up hope altogether.  
  
He called the police from his cell phone.  
  
"Hi, I am at a friends house and I just accidentally witnessed her husband beating her," He gave the address, then hung up, returning his eyes to her. He watched her, holding what looked like a hammer. She was going to do it. She was going to stand up. This was the Stephanie he knew.  
  
While Hunter was turned around she smashed the hammer on the back of his head, leaving him unconscious. She dropped the hammer and fell to the floor sobbing.  
  
---  
  
"I hit him…" she said almost in awe to herself. She slowly got the courage to check for a pulse. Her anger had forced her to do it and she was unaware of how hard she hit him. She was relieved to find a pulse, and sobbed none the less. He was going to kill her when he awoke.  
  
And inspiration of hope hit her as she ran through the house looking for his keys. He always hid them in a new place everyday so she couldn't leave. She frantically searched. She would leave if only she could find those keys.  
  
She stopped looking when she heard someone try to enter her front door. 


	4. How it Happened

She went to the window and peeked out. Chris came. She let out a sign of relief. She unlocked her door.  
  
He was still in his boxer shorts, and had a robe on over them. "Stephanie. Are you alright?" Chris asked gently touching the bruised bump that had formed where Hunter had hit her earlier. Hunter was sure to keep everything quiet, and her bruises were in places he made her hide easily. Usually on her legs. If bruises formed there she could just wear pants. Her stomach usually had bruises on it since she rarely showed that much skin. This was the first time she had attempted to escape and also the first time she had been hit in the face by him.  
  
Chris wiped a tear of her away. "Let's go," He said leading her out to his car. She followed, grabbing her coat and putting it on over her nightgown.  
  
She sobbed quietly most of the way there until he had broke the silence. "What happened tonight?" He asked quietly. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay."  
  
"He somehow knew that the person that called me was going to help me escape. He got mad," she close her eyes, letting a few tears fall. "And he hit me for trying to escape. I decided to escape myself in case you didn't come for me, and I hit him over the head with a hammer."  
  
"It's all over now. I called the police when I was outside. I told them that Hunter is abusive and they can take care of him now," Chris said.  
  
"Chris I don't have any money, he took all of that from me so I would have no where to go…" She let out a whimper.  
  
"Don't worry about it. You can stay here." Chris said pulling his car in his driveway. He turned off the engine. "Lets get some ice on that bruise of yours huh?"  
  
She followed him inside, and in the kitchen. She slid her coat off and he hung it up by the door. "When did he start abusing you?" He said getting a towel and filling it with ice.  
  
Stephanie had stopped crying and started calming herself down. "I think it was around the time I started to flirt with Kurt Angle. He said that I would be his exclusively and that I would pay for straying away from our marriage. I guess that's when it began, with the threats."  
  
Chris scoffed. "Yeah like your marriage was so great to begin with. He kidnapped you, and married you. That sounds like a bad beginning to me."  
  
Stephanie sighed. "Yes, I guess that would have been the first bad sign, but after he refused to sign divorce papers, or annulment papers, I decided to get used to the fact that this man is my husband." Chris gently held the ice to her cheek. She winced before holding it there herself. "I began to think he wasn't so bad as long as you didn't make him mad. After all, he only kidnapped me and married me because my father had made him mad. And he was the best in the business, so it wouldn't be a total waste. I did gain from it. Although I did wish every night that my marriage had been made from love and not from revenge."  
  
Chris poured her a glass of water. "But you did make him mad…" He wanted to hear her continue.  
  
"Yes. The first time he beat me, I did nothing and he apologized after. He said he was just so angry and he just went with it and couldn't control it. He promised to do better to control it if I ever made him angry again. So I did nothing," she said, trying to hold back more tears. She didn't know talking about this would be so hard.  
  
"Stephanie…" Chris said with sympathy.  
  
She continued. "It started to happen more frequently, and he apologized every time, Until one night he told me that he doesn't want me to talk to Kurt ever again. I refused saying he was my good friend and all. I know that we did flirt, but I would never jeopardize my marriage over flirting. But I also wanted someone to talk to. So I told him I would not stop talking to Kurt and he would just have to deal with it."  
  
Chris suddenly felt very proud of Stephanie. After nights of abuse, she still tried to stand up for herself. Even tonight she stood up for herself, fighting back with Hunter.  
  
"He told me to make sure that I never talked to Kurt, he would screen my phone calls, and never let me leave the house. He told me that he would hide the keys in a new place every day so I couldn't sneak out with the car. He even changed all the accounts so that I could not withdraw from them. He was afraid I would buy my own car, or get a taxi. That's when I knew it was more serious than I had thought."  
  
"How long did it go on before this?" Chris asked, suddenly feeling very guilty for not noticing it earlier.  
  
"Well, I tried to drop subtle hints to people to help me out, but I couldn't say much at work because everyone is around and somehow it could get back to Hunter. I tried to get my brother and father to call so I could tell them what was going on over the phone. I tried to get Kurt to call, but he didn't want to have to deal with Hunter being so jealous so we ended up not being friends anymore. Then I was left with no one."  
  
Chris frowned. "They all just dropped you like that?" He was furious. "They are going to hear an earful from me once I see them. Your own family?"  
  
"Well, my father and brother disapproved when I decided to stay married. But that was before I found out he was abusive," She said standing up. "Do you have anything for headaches?"  
  
"Top cupboard, on your left." Chris said, suddenly feeling a headache of his own.  
  
"So, I decided that it would probably be obvious if they had helped me and Hunter would know, and be even more angry. That's when I decided to give you my number. Out of everyone, you were the first person to call me," she said getting herself two pills from the bottle.  
  
Chris smiled. "I guess your pretty tired then huh? You can sleep in my bed. I'll take the couch." He lead her upstairs to his bedroom and turned the lights on. "In the morning I can go with you to get some clothes so we don't have to go back to your house."  
  
She sat on the bed, and slid her legs beneath the warm covers. "Chris… Thanks," She said smiling.  
  
"Don't worry about it. Goodnight, Stephanie." He said turning off the lights.  
  
"Night."  
  
A/N: Yeah I know long time no Chapter. But I am NOT giving up on this story, so bear with me. I already have the next 3 chapters written. So what do you think! Press the little review button and let me know! 


	5. The Reason?

Stephanie was wearing one of his long sleeve dress shirts, and a pair of lace panties on underneath. He laid in his bed sleeping, when she slowly sat on top of his chest, one of her knees on each side of his abdomen. She lowered her head, trailing kisses down his chest, before moving in on his lips.  
  
He decided he liked being woke up by kisses. He kissed her back, keeping his eyes closed. He already knew who it was. She smiled when they finally parted. "Morning, handsome," She said, lightly moving her hands around on his chest.  
  
"Aren't you afraid of morning breath?" He asked sitting himself up, but still keeping her in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, moving his hands down her back.  
  
She let out a laugh. That laugh was so beautiful to him. "I think its worth it," she said simply, kissing his neck. He unbuttoned her shirt, wishing he could only do it faster. He slipped it off her, revealing a white lace bra that matched her panties. He slid his hand through her soft hair before leaning her into an embrace.  
  
Chris woke up with a yawn. He was getting used to his reoccurring dreams but still thought he need some psychiatric help for having passionate dreams about the woman he hated for months. He was getting used to it, but still found them quite unnerving and wished it would stop. Wished everything went back to normal.  
  
He got up and decided to put a shirt on seeing as now he wasn't the only person staying at his house. He walked to the kitchen, looking for some breakfast. Stephanie was probably starving after a night like last night. He pulled out some pancake batter, some bacon, and some eggs.  
  
Stephanie groggily walked down the stairs.  
  
"Good morning, Sunshine," Chris called from the kitchen.  
  
She walked in noticing he was cooking. "Hey I didn't think you could cook," She said making fun of him.  
  
"Ha ha, Princess," Chris said.  
  
"Need any help?" She asked walking over to the stove. She say a few burnt pancakes on a plate beside the stove and decided his answer was yes. She laughed. "You go set the table. I'll finish this."  
  
"Good idea," Chris said relieved. "See I usually just have a bowl of cereal. It's not that hard to make." Chris said grabbing some plates.  
  
"Yeah I'm sure. I'll have you make me a bowl sometime."

They both sat down to eat.  
  
"Wow, it's been a long time since I had a meal like this. As long as you cook you can stay as long as you want." Chris said before filling his mouth with pancakes.  
  
Stephanie let out a giggle. "Deal."  
  
"So today we have shopping on the agenda. Looking for anything in particular?" Chris said in between bites.  
  
"I'm not picky. Since you are buying them, you can pick them out," A small smile crept on her lips, wondering what he would pick.  
  
Chris suddenly though of her lace bra and panties from his dream and started to blush. "That's not a good idea. You can pick."  
  
She almost laughed at his uneasiness. She knew something like that would make him uncomfortable. "I have a question Chris…" she said getting serious.  
  
"Uh-huh," he said concentrating on his pancakes.  
  
"Don't get me wrong, I am glad you called and let me stay here and all. But why exactly did you call me at two in the morning?"  
  
Chris' head shot up. "Uh…" he stammered. "That's not really important." He said avoiding her question. Now, was not the time to tell her he was having erotic dreams of her every night. Besides, before there was no reason he always saw her when he closed his eyes. Now there was a reason. He was her knight in shining armor, and she was now sleeping in his bed. Now, he could put this off until later. It didn't seem as odd or unnerving now he had a cause for the dreams, he also realized he now had a cause to blame his dreams on.  
  
She looked at him questioningly. "Oh come on Chris. I told you the whole story of my marriage. The least you could do is tell me why you called that night."  
  
"Just had a feeling," He said blowing her off.  
  
Shopping had never been fun for Chris. He hated it with a passion, but with her, it wasn't so bad.  
  
Now, she had enough clothing for a week. "So what do you say? Want to take a stab at cooking again or want to go out?"  
  
She thought for a moment, "I can cook," She smile. "Even though you can't," she added with a mumble.  
  
"Hey!" Chris said in protest. "I can cook. I can make the best macaroni," He said, hearing her laugh again. She seemed so happy as long as she wasn't at home. As long as Hunter wasn't in the picture.

They got home and Chris suddenly felt guilty about lying about his dreams that morning. "Stephanie, did Hunter ever rape you?"  
  
Stephanie turned around, her eyes wide with horror. Her eyes filled with tears. "Yes. He did." Chris automatically regretted asking her. He opened his arms and embraced her.  
  
"Hey sorry. Touchy subject. You don't have to talk," He said rubbing her back. "Besides, you don't have to worry about that again, right?"  
  
She rubbed her eyes then looked up at him. "I want to talk about it."  
  
He was surprised at this but said nothing, letting her take her time to continue.  
  
She sighed. "Not much to say really. I am sure Rape speaks for itself. I cried every time, telling him I didn't want to. He did it anyway violently tearing my clothes off and throwing me in the bed. But once, it was different. Once, he did it very gently. His strength, even though he was gentle, was overpowering me and I couldn't stop him. But he was more gentle than any other time."  
  
She let out another soft sob. "And that's when he got me pregnant."  
  
Chris stared at her for a minute. "You have a child with him?"  
  
She shook her head. "No. Hunter abused me so much for getting pregnant. He said it was my fault, and that he didn't want any annoying little children running around. I ended up miscarrying the baby."  
  
She sobbed leaning her head in his chest. "I had a baby inside of me. A beautiful baby that was so innocent. He murdered it."  
  
Chris rocked her back and forth. "Shhh… its okay Stephanie."


	6. Police Get Involved

Chris used his thumb to gently wipe her tears away. "You'll have many babies. They'll grow up to be loved, and have a loving father, and a beautiful mother." Chris said with a smile.  
  
She smiled with one last sniff. "I am sorry for having a breakdown every time I talk. I enjoy getting all of this off my back and I want to talk about it but at the same time it's hard."  
  
She smiled getting back to cooking.  
  
The phone rang before either of them could say anything. "Hello?" Chris said answering it.  
  
"Hey," It was Shane. "I gave you Stephanie's address. Was she there when you went to her house? She seems to have tried to kill Hunter and then ran off. No one knows where she is."  
  
Chris' eyes widened. "Wait she tried to kill him?" He knew that wasn't the truth.  
  
"Yeah, the police said they had a warning of spousal abuse and went to go check it out, found Hunter on the floor in a concussion."  
  
"That's all wrong. I went there and found Hunter beating Stephanie and called the police. Stephanie then hit him in self defense."  
  
"Well, you should go to the police station and sort this out," Shane said. "Do you know where she is?"  
  
"Yeah she is with me."  
  
"Okay well I am coming over to make sure my baby sister is alright and that she doesn't get herself into anymore trouble." He heard Shane hang up. Chris new he meant he was coming over now.  
  
He turned to Stephanie. She looked at him intently. "The police think you tried to murder your husband. As soon as Shane gets here, we are going to the police station to sort all of this out."  
  
She sighed. "And no doubt Hunter will be there. I don't want to face him just yet," she said, starting to put his cooking utensils away. Lunch would have to wait.  
  
"Looks like your going to have to. You'll be in big trouble if you don't go sort this out now. But hey, you don't have to go back to your house. You can stay here for as long as you need," Chris said.  
  
"Thank you, Chris," she said with a small smile. "This just proves it though. I know he is going to try and pin this on me."  
  
"Hey, well just tell the police the truth. They know a bullshit story when they see one. And that's what Hunter's story is."  
  
She hugged him again. These hugs were her thank you for all the confidence he gave her. It was because of him she felt like she could face this. It was because of him, her bruises were healing and her tears were drying.  
  
They stood there for a long time. They were silent. She looked up at him, not pulling away. "Chris…" she said leaning in.  
  
Shane knocked on the door. "That would be Shane," Chris said pulling apart from her to get the door.  
  
Shane walked in. "Where is she?" He asked, almost panicked.  
  
"In the other room," Chris said pointing.  
  
Shane went to the room. "Stephanie?" He called lightly. He saw her cheek and frowned. "How could you let him do that to you?" Shane whispered, reaching out to touching the slight bump that still poked out of her soft flesh.  
  
"I didn't let him. I just couldn't stop him." She said, hugging Shane.  
  
"Once dad hears this, Hunter will be fired. You'll never have to see him again. Why didn't you tell anyone?"  
  
She went through how she was trapped inside the walls of her own home once more. Often, she was close to tears, but for the most part, she managed to hold them back.  
  
"Let's go get this sorted out with the police." Chris said grabbing his coat, leading the way out.  
  
"Stephanie, I am sorry. I should have known something was up, I should have done something anything. I should have called," Shane went on.  
  
"Don't worry about it. It's over now, and we can move on," she said shrugging it off. The last thing she needed was someone begging for forgiveness. Now she needed a family. She knew all to well that Shane had been giving her space because he felt that was best for her. Not to put her aside.  
  
The rest of the car ride there was quiet. No one wanted to bring those haunting memories back to Stephanie, and she didn't want to remember anymore.  
  
"Hi, I am Stephanie McMahon. There is a case with my husband about spousal abuse, and I wish to sort it all out," She said, confidently. Now that she was out of Hunter's grasp, it would be easier for her to tell him her true thoughts about their marriage, and get a personal protection order against him.  
  
"We have been expecting you Mrs. Helmsley. Have a seat at the last desk in that row," The officer said pointing. "The officer on your case will be there to sort all of this out. I will give your husband a call so we can talk to you both about this."  
  
The last thing Stephanie wanted was for Hunter to come, but she knew that it had to be done sooner or later. She turned to where the mad was pointing before hearing Shane say something to the officer. "Its McMahon. Ms. McMahon."  
  
"Ahhh, you must be Stephanie. That is some bump you have there," The officer said with a smile. "I am Officer Jones. I will be working on you and your husbands case. Before we begin discussing I want everything you say to be remembered as you say it. Mind if I record you?" Stephanie gave a slight nod. "As you probably heard, your husband came in the other night and reported spousal abuse, that you hit him over the head with a hammer?" The officer said, waiting for her to confirm her husbands report.  
  
"This is true sir," she said looking at the ground, already feeling the tears start to fill her eyes.  
  
"Now, do you mind telling me why you hit your husband with a weapon like that?" The officer said, trying his hardest to be understanding.  
  
"Hunter has been abusing me for months. He would refuse to let me use the phone to call anyone and he had me under house arrest. Wouldn't let me leave. I took it upon myself to drop some hints to the people at work and once they called me, I would tell them the story hoping to be freed from my own house." She stopped to take a deep breath. "Only one person called, and that would be Chris Jericho," she stopped to point at him.  
  
"Hunter somehow knew the person on the phone was for me. He refuse to let me have any phone calls, usually lying and saying I wasn't there. But this time, I answered the phone first. I told Chris that Hunter was abusing me, but our phone call was interrupted by my husband," remembering the abuse had always made her cry because she was reminded of how Hunter had indirectly murdered her child. Their child. She let a few tears fall from her worn eyes, but restrained from having a breakdown and sobbing. She would tell them her story and get as far away from Hunter as she could.  
  
"He proceeded to backhand me in the face leaving this bump," she pointed to her discolored face. "And once I fell back he kicked me in my stomach numerous times." She lifted the shirt Chris had bought her, revealing the imprints of Hunter's large boot.  
  
"I couldn't get away and he was so angry, so when I found the chance to hit him, I did with a hammer. I started frantically searching for the keys, since he hid them in places I could never find when Chris showed up and I stayed the night at his house. Leaving Hunter clueless to where I was," Stephanie said, finishing the story and dabbing her eyes with a tissue.  
  
"So what your saying is, you hit him out of self defense," the officer understood what went on now. "Did you happen to see any of this?" the officer asked Chris.  
  
"Yes I saw him kicking her while she was on the ground. That's when I called the police and took Stephanie to my house."  
  
"Stephanie."  
  
Stephanie tuned around to see Hunter towering over her at the officer's desk. 


	7. Letting her go

She felt weak. Hunter towered over her, making her feel small and fragile especially under his glare. Her tears made everything worse, because now he was there, they wouldn't stop. She wasn't sobbing, but the tears were pouring from her eyes. She feared him, but now that all of this was out in the open, she couldn't go back to that life with him. 

"Hunter…" she managed to whimper out. He took a most unwelcome seat next to her.

"Listen sweetheart, I know what you did was an accident. We all have tempers. Now lets just go home and sort all of this out over a nice dinner, huh?" Hunter reached for her hand and almost grabbed it. But at his touch, she flinched and pulled back harshly.

"I have told you my story officer. Now I am assuming that there will be a court date planned, and until then, I want to see if I can get a PPO against this man, and I want to talk about divorce as soon as possible," Her tears were still pouring and inside, she was frightened. If she went back to him, she would be giving up her happiness, and that is something she was willing to fight for no matter how frightening that was.

Chris couldn't help but let out a smile. This was his Stephanie he remembered. She wouldn't be taking anymore of his shit, now she was free.

The officer let out a sigh. "If you feel he is threatening I can put out a PPO, but only until the court date. Then if he is found guilty, the PPO will be permanent. I need both of your signatures here to certify you understand the terms of the PPO, you are not allowed to be in fifty feet of each other until further notice."

"Sir, this is my wife. She is no danger to me and I understand her temper. There is no reason for this PPO," Hunter said, sounding so sincere that Stephanie almost wanted to go back to him. She knew deep down that he was just trying to hurt her again. His fake sincerity would not fool her. Not this time.

She looked up at Shane and Chris for support but found them both scowling at Hunter. She could tell how pissed they were at him for still trying to get out of this whole situation, but they remained quiet, waiting for Stephanie to step up and stop this from starting all over again. She knew that she needed this done.

"Mr. Helmsley, if your wife insists you are dangerous, until the court date, she has the right to do this. You'll always have the phone to communicate, so I see no reason why this should be a problem. Please read and sign here," the officer said, starting to get annoyed.

Hunter signed reluctantly. He turned to Stephanie. "Will you be coming over to pick up your things tonight then?" He asked, almost hopeful to see Stephanie alone.

She gave him a sarcastic smile. "Chris has been nice enough to supply me with some clothing until I can pay him back and I am sure I can borrow some money from my father. Oh, and consider yourself fired, Hunter," She sneered. Now that she wasn't trapped, her confidence soared with every minute she stood before him.

"Mrs. Helmsley, I am afraid you cannot fire him until the court decides what is going on between the two of you," the officer was reluctant to give Stephanie this information.

"Well, I can always find loop holes. This is my family's business and I have a copy of his contract," She turned and looked at Hunter. "But until I do, if I decide to even go to work, you had better stay within your limits of me," Stephanie said.

The officer took the signed PPO statement and gave Hunter and Stephanie each a carbon copy of it. "Here is my number where I will be staying officer," she wrote Shane's number down and stood up from her chair. "Can I leave now?"

The officer took the number and put it in one of his vanilla folders. "You may leave."

Stephanie turned to leave followed by Shane. Chris followed last before taking one last look at an irate Hunter. Hunter threw a threatening glance at Chris. He knew Chris was responsible for all of this.

Stephanie walked back in Chris' house, showing the biggest smile she had shown in ages. "Chris I did it!" she yelled throwing her arms around him. "I actually stood up to him. I mean, I said I would for the longest time, but he always frightened me out of it. I actually did it and now I can move on all thanks to you," she loosened her grip around his neck letting her hands fall over his broad shoulders. "Thank you."

She let go, running up his stairs to his bedroom. "I'll be able to get out of your way now. Just let me get my things."

Chris forced a half hearted smile. "Yeah…" he reluctantly agreed.

Shane walked in taking a seat at Chris' table. "So why did you help Stephanie? I mean, you guys don't get along so well…" Shane recalled the moment only minutes before of Stephanie jumping into Chris' arms. "At least before now." He added with a smirk,

"I don't know. I guess I always imagined her as strong. She was always fun to make fun of because I could never hurt her no matter what I said. She always had a comeback, and I had found my match. When I heard about all of this, I was angry. Hunter must have done some shitty things to make her crumble like that you know?" Chris answered. "She was always so strong."

Shane merely nodded.

Stephanie practically skipped down the stairs with her hands full of clothes Chris had bought her the day before. "Let me take those out to the car for you," Shane offered, holding his hand out to Chris. "Thanks man. If you need anything you can give me or Steph a call," he turned to Stephanie, "You can give him the number. I will meet you in the car. See you later Chris," Shane said, taking the handfuls of clothing and leaving.

Stephanie showed Chris another one of her beautiful smiles. Chris gently pushed a stray strand of hair behind Stephanie's ear. This left him with the oddest feeling of déjà vu from his dream. He smiled back at her, and back the memory of his dream. The dreams weren't so bad now that he was getting used to the idea of Stephanie being a friend instead of his enemy.

She tore her gaze away from his and went to the kitchen. She grabbed a scrap piece of paper from his table and wrote her new number down. She walked over to his fridge and used a magnet to post her number there. "Call me if you need anything, or if your just bored."

She walked over to him and gave him one last, long hug. She pulled away, and turned towards the door. She left without another word.

A/N: Yeah long time no update. School is a real drag and I haven't had time to get on here a lot. Please review, and hopefully I'll find time to update sooner!


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